I spotted this cute little guy in Heal's. Isn't it decidedly nicer than most webcams with the beige plastic? It's 1.3megapixels which is pretty low grade but certainly no worse than your average webcam plus it has a stills camera and poseable limbs. It's compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP/Vista but not Mac.
Buy it? £25 here.
We all know what Dell is, yes? Did it ever strike you that it might be too masculine for you, a bit too clever? Did that put you off? Is that why Dell has launched Della, a sweet little PC site for little women... like you? Have you just swallowed that or did you, like me, have a little laugh? The idea behind Della is to offer the site as a fashion-friendly guide for women who see their tech as a style statement and need lots of tips for recipes, how to be more organized and ways in which women could use their netbook (calorie counters, online fitness routines etc). OK, none of that is particularly offensive in itself. It does however become patronising due to the fact it's aimed at women.
Where is the equality, Dell? Will Dell next launch 'Dellboy' with tips for DIY, how to build your own shed, fitness videos for warding off the beer belly and where to find vintage cars for the chaps? I think not somehow.
I'm quite happy to see stylish, colourful products and accessories (see Della's Products section) but I don't need it wrapped up in naff website when I could just check out... Dell. I think netbooks are nice and sure I want my kit nice looking but functional too and I fear Della glosses over the latter in favour of cutsifying and dumbing down for our "simple" gender.
Della commenters aren't happy either. One commenter on the Tech Tips section (here's a sample of the so-called tech tips: "Add storage to your netbook with memory cards or memory keys." Seriously) says, "Women have been successfully using computers and the internet just as long as men have; we don't need babying, special colors, or ways to track our workout and diets just to so we'll buy a computer. Want to empower women? Encourage us to do what the above commenter already mentioned: start blogs, upload pictures, e-commerce, etc. " Couldn't agree more. What say you?
I've noticed a few tweets about this topic this week on Twitter. We've probably all heard of the name game where you take your mother's maiden name, your first pet, your school or your street and put a combination of two together to create a 'porn name' or a 'hollywood name' etc. It's harmless fun, right?
Not quite is the new thinking because these snippets of information or often things that banks ask for in order to confirm your identity or the info other sites need to reset passwords. Have you just freely given that info away?
Top design blog Decor8 have announced a lovely new partnership with several other designers to create wallpapers for your PC through their Kindred website. There are 10 designs to choose from and all are free to download which is very generous of the designers, don't you think?
They've also included print-it-yourself stationery with gratitude notes and thank you cards with some very pretty designs. They will be updating the wallpapers with another edition come summer. Lovely.
Bloggers, laptop users, competition-entering types, I've spotted this Asus and Mobile Computer magazine collaboration. They're on the look out for six bloggers to test out Asus' laptops on a blog on Mobile Computing's website for four weeks where they'll trial the laptop and write about their experiences so users get to see some real reviews of the range. At the end of that time, each blogger will get a thank you gift of an Asus Eee PC and the winning blogger (measured by who gets the most readers) will get to keep the laptop they're trialling.
Enter the competition online here by March 15th and blogging begins on 30th March. Good luck!
The HP Mini 1000 has been given an ultra fashionable makeover thanks to Vivienne Tam. Based on Tam's 'China Chic' runway styles, the mini notebook has a bright red finish with a red peony flower cover design that makes it look more like a clutch than a PC. Inside, there's coordinated wallpaper graphics and accessories that including a matching protective sleeve and mouse.
In case we're in any danger of forgetting it is a notebook, here's what inside: a 10.1" display, built-in webcam, wireless, Windows XP operating system with an Intel Atom processor, 60GB hard drive, up to 1024MB memory, one inch thin and weighs in at 2.45lbs. It's out in February and costs $699/ around £400 with the mouse in at £29.
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Fashionable and functional, this limited-edition polka dot mobile broadband dongle is from Agyness Deyn favourite House of Holland. The dongle will keep you connected to the internet whilst on the move, enabling access to 5,000 free Wifi hotspots throughout the UK or go online from £2 per day. There's no minimum term contract and you can pick a bundle deal if you plan on going online often.
It's available with the 02 Mobile Broadband Pay & Go from 27th February for £29.35.
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Ah, Valentines Day, what's not to love about love? And what we love the most is getting giving gifts to the people we love. Of course, you don't have to celebrate just once out of 365 days but if you are, here's a few last minute gifts that are sure to surprise.
From top left, Technika 1GB pink MP3 player with headphones and space for 320 MP3s, £9.75 at Tesco Direct; diamante studded USB mouse, £29.99 IWOOT; Heartware Vitrail Light USB memory key pendant with 1GB memory (up to 1000 photos or around 250 MP3s), £103 at Swarovski; Samsung S760 7MP camera, £53.27 Amazon; PoGo instant photo printer (camera not included)- send phone or digital camera pictures via Bluetooth for instant photo sticker prints, black or pink £99.95 Firebox; mini digtal photo frame, £39.95 Firebox.
I'm thinking of buying a computer for my teenager. He'll need it for doing homework, browsing the web and emailing. Can you recommend some laptops? I don't want to spend too much.
Alex answers... Laptops are becoming more and more powerful and you can now get much more for your money. But if you truely want to save money and get a decent machine then avoid the High Street! The High Street tends to focus on the bigger brands such as HP but you can find a good quality machine for much less by picking a lesser-known brand or surfing online for the best price deal. For instance, ACER, available online and in some Tesco stores offer good quality machines with a range of offerings to suit most budgets. You might also want to look at budget online store Laptops Direct.
Most laptops come with built-in wireless that can connect you to your home WiFi to share internet access, but do take into account anti-virus protection and child locks if they'll be browsing the web to prevent them from accessing anything unsavoury.
Dont be fooled by 'free laptop offers.' When you've calculated the cost of a 24-month contract compared to buying a similar model laptop along with a broadband line, there might not actually be any saving at all. If you're planning on downloading a lot of content, for example, music, you might find the small download allowance offered with a 'free laptop' deal not enough.
Will your teen want this laptop to be just for work, or for fun as well? All laptops will have reasonable sound and basic graphics ability, so there should be no problem watching a movie or playing music! And it will serve as an entertainment device as well as a homework tool.
Don't always listen to the salesmen! The salesmen will always try and push you for the most expensive options, even if you've said you dont want to spend that much. They'll try to blind you with acronyms and mesmorise you with specifications, so its worth reading up before you decide what you want.
Buying your laptop online from somewhere like Laptops Direct or Ebuyer will give you the opportunity to read all about each item before you decide plus Ebuyer also have a handy product comparison tool!
If you want a budget model, take a look at the £99 Elonex Websurfer that will go on sale this month. It's slightly smaller than most laptops with a seven inch screen and smaller keyboard but it does offer email, web browsing and can remotely access the home PC. It comes in a range of colours but you'll need to get a memory stick for saving documents. The Asus EEEPC 1000 is a popular portable laptop with a 10" screen display and a keboard that is only 8% smaller than standard models. It offers all the functionality of a standard sized laptop and costs around £360 from various online retailers.
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